PARIS, Oct 29 (AFP) - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama condemned what he described as China's "cultural genocide" in his homeland, on the first full day of a trip to Paris Tuesday.

In an interview in the daily Le Monde, he reiterated however that he remains open to negotiations with the Beijing authorities without pre-conditions, stressing that he is not demanding Tibet's independence only its autonomy.

"A sort of cultural genocide is happening in Tibet. And if losing independence is acceptable, on the contrary losing one's culture, accepting the destruction of our spirituality, of Tibetan Buddhism, is unthinkable," he said.

"Protecting the cultural heritage of Tibet has become my main concern," he added.

The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner is due to meet parliamentary deputies and Paris Mayor Jean Tiberi during his stay in the French capital, where he arrived Monday night.

France is at pains however to stress that the visit is purely pastoral, and the Dalai Lama will not have meetings with President Jacques Chirac or Premier Alain Juppe.

In the Le Monde interview, the Buddhist leader repeated that the human rights situation in Tibet had worsened, but said Beijing was facing inevitable pressure to change and therefore he had to be ready to talk.

"Despite the worsening of the situation in Tibet, my position has not changed: as soon as there are positive signs from the Chinese side, I am ready to negotiate with no preconditions.

"In the immediate future there is certainly not a lot of hope. But I think in the longer term things will change. Because China is in the process of changing."

China has slammed the Dalai Lama's visit, his sixth trip to France. On Tuesday it warned Paris against giving the trip any official status, saying this could affect Franco-Chinese relations.